Invaders from Mars[2] is a 1953 American independent science fiction film directed by William Cameron Menzies and starring Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke.

Invaders from Mars recounts its story from the point of view of an older child in an adult world heading into crisis.

[4] It was developed from a scenario by Richard Blake and based on a story treatment by John Tucker Battle, who was inspired by a dream recounted to him by his wife.

Concerned by David's distraught manner, the desk officer summons health-department physician Dr. Pat Blake to calm him.

David and Dr. Blake consult local astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston, who says that the flying saucer is likely the vanguard of an invasion from the planet Mars, now in close orbital proximity to Earth.

During the army search, Dr. Blake and David are sucked underground by tall, slit-eyed green humanoids and taken via tunnels to the flying saucer.

Under his mental commands, the tall, green, silent, synthetic mutants have implanted mind-control crystals at the base of the skull of their victims; if they are caught, the mind control devices explode, causing a fatal cerebral hemorrhage.

The troops and Colonel Fielding, with Dr. Blake and David in tow, open fire on the pursuing mutants as their group escapes the saucer.

[8] The production makes use of a unique outre music score that consists of an ethereal, rhythmically wavering tonal composition sung in unison by a choir.

[5] Despite being a quickly shot, low-budget 1950s feature,[10] Invaders uses occasional camera angles set lower or higher than usual to enhance the dramatic and visual impact of key scenes.

Some of Menzies' set designs (such as those in the police station, the observatory, and the interiors of the Martian flying saucer) consist of elongated structures with stark, unadorned walls, sometimes much taller than necessary, adding touches of dreamlike surrealism.

In film tests they looked like balloons stuck to the walls, so the effects crew tried smaller inflated latex condoms.

All new scenes were filmed several months after the U.S. release, including the one showing the destruction of the Martian flying saucer in the sky when the army's explosive charges finally detonate.

[13][14] Oscar Godbout of The New York Times reviewed the film strictly as entertainment for youngsters, calling it "a pictorial 'funnybook'" that would "probably frighten witless a lot of small children".

[15] A generally positive review in Variety wrote: "Imaginative yarn makes full use of astronomical and lab equipment as well as Government atomic research installations as backgrounds to heighten the realism.

The story, as in most pictures of this type, is highly imaginative, but it is packed with suspense from start to finish and should thrill the action fans, especially the youngsters".

[17] The Southern California Motion Picture Council cautioned "The tale is weird and terrifying, but well-done with ... exceptional color.

Don Coscarelli's original 1979 Phantasm has some plot similarities, while Brad Bird's The Iron Giant makes references to the film, as well as to other iconic science fiction features, particularly those from the 1950s.

[23] The film was spoofed by RiffTrax, consisting of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett and Michael J. Nelson, on March 26, 2021.